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Celebrity neighbours and commuter links to the City of London have made Esher in Surrey the Uk's number one income tax hotspot, research shows.

Residents living in the Esher and Walton constituency - home to Frank Lampard, Gary Lineker, Mick Hucknall and Chris Tarrant - have seen average income tax bills jump by 8% in a year.

They paid the most income tax in 2012/13 with bills averaging £16,900, up from £15,700 the year before and almost four times the national average of £4,363, a study by the UHY Hacker Young accountancy group found.

Like Esher, the other top five highest income tax-paying constituencies - Chesham and Amersham, Windsor, Beaconsfield, and Dorking & Leatherhead - are all in the Home Counties and within an hour's commute from London.

An early spring and a "wonderful growing season" is set to deliver autumn fruit crops around two weeks early, experts have said.

An early spring could mean a good season for British apples and pears Credit: Joe Giddens/PA Wire

The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) said its orchard at Wisley, Surrey, was seeing early ripening of berries and fruits such as apples and pears, and that most gardeners should be in line for an excellent crop.

RHS chief horticultural adviser Guy Barter said: "Everything is running a little bit ahead, though the cold nights we've been having will push it back a bit.

"The whole season has been early, it's been a wonderful growing season, with no frosts, good weather and here we are with autumn approaching and fruits ripening."